caption:LOOKING BACK: Mayor Marvin Reed stands next
to the Princeton Bell, one of the oldest landmarks in Borough
history, dating back to 1843. Mr. Reed will retire from his
mayoral office when his term expires at the end of the year.

d
of caption

Marvin
Reed Reflects on 13 Years as Mayor

Candace
Braun

Additional affordable housing, reconstruction of
Monument Park and the Suzanne Paterson Senior Center, and renovation
of Borough Hall are just a few of the accomplishments the Borough
has made over the past 13 years. These are due, at least in
part, to Mayor Marvin Reed.

As Mayor Reed, 72, looks back
on his tenure as mayor of Princeton Borough, he says that after
serving his community to the best of his ability, it is time
for him to retire. "I got a lot of things accomplished, and
a lot of things are well underway," he said.

Affordable
housing was on the forefront of the mayor's agenda, and many housing
units have been added since his time in office. "I've spent
a lot of time on affordable housing issues, which are very
important in a town like this," said Mayor Reed.

These
include housing units on Hamilton, John and Clay Streets, Shirley Court,
and McLean Street. More recently, private developers have also
added housing on Moore Street and Spring Street. Also underway
are redevelopment of the Hillier Nursing Home on Quarry Street
and 68 units of low-income senior housing in Elm Court.

Nevertheless, there are other issues that he still hopes to tackle
before leaving office. The garage on Hulfish North has been
left without the promised housing units that were to be built
on top, and Mr. Reed said he still hopes to move the project
forward.

"That's an eyesore that the John Witherspoon
neighborhood faces all the time," he said. The mayor
said that there's been an ongoing dispute between the Borough
and the state over getting the much-needed housing units funded.
"This was to be a significant new rateable for the Borough,"
he said.

Arriving in Princeton

A resident of Princeton
Borough for 45 years, the mayor is no stranger to the concerns
and debates that have passed through Borough Hall.

Mr. Reed
first moved to Princeton when he was asked to fill the third bedroom
in an apartment share on Jefferson Road. He was working for the
New Jersey Education Association, where he remained for 31
years, retiring as director of communications.

"I
bounced around for a couple years from one shared apartment to
another, like many young people have to do," he said.
"When I got married, I brought my wife down here, and
I've been living here ever since."

A resident of Cameron
Court, Mr. Reed has been married to his wife, Ingrid, for almost
44 years. They have a son, David, who lives in Orinda, Calif., with
his wife and their son, Owen. Their daughter, Liza O'Reilly, lives
with her husband and two daughters, Cecilia and Jacqueline,
in Hingham, Mass.

Becoming Mayor

The mayor has been
an ongoing member of Borough Council for 18 years. Helping
Ms. Sigmund with her campaign was Mr. Reed's first experience
with Borough government. "She was a good friend of mine,"
he said.

After Ms. Sigmund became mayor, she asked Mr. Reed
to run for Council as seats began to open. Both Mayor Reed
and Mildred Trotman, who is also still on Council today, were
elected in 1985. "I didn't have as much to do in those
days," said Mr. Reed. "I came to Council meetings
and tried to be wise."

According to Mr. Reed, Ms. Sigmund
was a model mayor. "Barbara Sigmund was a very strong
mayor, and she exerted a lot of leadership in terms of what we did,"
he said.

Dick Woodbridge was Council president at that time,
however, after he moved to the Township, Mr. Reed was chosen
to take his place. It was that same year, in 1989, when Ms.
Sigmund ran for governor. Because she was often unable to attend
Council meetings due to the upcoming election for the primary,
Mr. Reed ran Council meetings on a regular basis.

After
Ms. Sigmund lost the election, she had a reoccurrence of melanoma cancer,
and had to begin treatments. Mr. Reed continued to lead Council meetings
in her absence. After Ms. Sigmund's death in October of 1990,
Mr. Reed was named as replacement mayor by the Council. He
has now served three full terms as mayor of Princeton Borough.

Overseeing
Changes

Over the years the mayor has seen many changes
in town, including several positive ones for the Borough and
its residents. "One of the better changes I've seen is
the increasing number of people that participate in public life in
this town," he said.

The mayor said that the number
of volunteers for organizations and municipal positions has
increased, providing a significant base of people support. He said
that there are also now a number of organizations in town that
support senior programs, youth programs, and recreational programs.

Another
positive change, he said, has been the transformation of the Borough Police
Department into one that is serious about community policing and keeping
a good rapport with residents.

In addition, the expansion
of recreational activities, the adding of open space areas,
and improvements on neighborhood playgrounds have also taken place.

He also added that the town's commitment to the historic
preservation and the maintaining of Princeton's heritage have
made him proud to represent Princeton Borough.

However
some problematic changes have also occurred in Princeton and the surrounding
area, said Mr. Reed. In particular, he says he has seen a shift in
retail business to Route One shopping centers.

"It
has changed the nature of convenient shopping that we used to
enjoy in the center of town," he said.

He also added
that the state's refusal to come to grips with the traffic problems
in and around Princeton has led to more and more traffic and motor pollution
in the area.

Further down the road, the mayor said he is
hoping the town will have a better developed public transportation
system, which will decrease the amount of traffic circulating
through town and enable more people to walk and ride their
bikes to where they need to go.

"If we can master that,
we will probably have made Princeton an even more attractive
place to live," said Mr. Reed. "I have full faith that
our real estate market will remain very, very strong, and Princeton
will continue to be the preeminent center of central New Jersey,
where people not only come to live, but also come for their
shopping and entertainment."

For now, the mayor said
that he hopes the Council will continue to focus on keeping
Princeton a quality community within a reasonable tax cost. He
said he also hopes they continue to pressure the state for
more financial help so that Princeton is not a "cash-strapped
Borough," and work on obtaining money from the many tax-exempt
higher education institutions in the community.go
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